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Forget about Lebron

He aint coming to the Knicks so we can just stop all this talk about getting under the cap to get Lebron.

Losing LeBron
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

LeBron James showed up in New York on Monday, part of a USA Basketball media function, and continued to bat his eyes at the city in the run up to his potential free agency in 2010.

When asked to name his favorite city he said: “New York.”

Favorite borough?

“Brooklyn,” James said. “Brooklyn is definitely a great place here in New York City, and some of my best friends are from Brooklyn, so I stick up for them.”

Brooklyn is where the New Jersey Nets are expected to be in 2010 (at least if the Tammany Hall-inspired politicians don’t blow it). The franchise is owned, in part, by James’ friend Jay-Z, and should be stock full of young, complimentary talent and a King’s ransom in salary cap room.

James knows all of this. His answers weren’t by accident or without meaning, no more than was wearing a New York baseball cap from an Indians-Yankees playoff game last fall just an expression of pinstriped-fandom.

This was just the latest, albeit most obvious, shot across the Cavaliers’ bow. James didn’t list Cleveland as one of his five favorite cities, although hometown Akron came in fifth behind Washington, Dallas and Los Angeles.

To say there is concern along the Cuyahoga River is to understate things. To say there is pressure on Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert doesn’t begin to describe it.

Five years into James’ career and the franchise has yet to instill confidence in the 23-year-old that it knows what it’s doing. Forget his polite talk about the front office. It’s not James’ job to assemble the roster or publicly second guess new teammates (he’s a relentless cheerleader).

If James truly believed the Cavs were on the brink of winning a bunch of titles, he wouldn’t have a wandering eye.

LeBron doesn’t need New York to cash in as a media superstar or a marketing sensation – he’s making hundreds of millions in endorsements in Northeast Ohio. This is a different era and as big and bold as New York is, it isn’t the only place anymore. The guy signed a $105 million Nike deal out of an Akron high school, after all.

James does need New York, or the fear of New York, to motivate Gilbert and Ferry to surround him with a supporting cast capable of winning a championship.

If they can’t do that in the next two years, then he may need New York to fulfill his dream of a title.

Thus far the Cavs have looked like the same old bumbling franchise that had the enormous fortune of winning the 2003 lottery when an otherworldly talent from just down the road happened to be available.

Gilbert is from Michigan and was a huge fan and corporate partner of the Detroit Pistons. Since purchasing the Cavs in 2005, he’s brought all of the Pistons’ pregame pyrotechnics and goofy game presentations only with none of the franchise’s savvy personnel decisions.

The Cavs have misspent cap space, made short-sighted trades and botched draft picks. Every step forward has been met with a step backward.

The LeBrons simply don’t offer enough support to LeBron – witness the Celtics seven games of near triple teaming James. That Cleveland made the NBA Finals in 2007, where it was summarily swept by San Antonio, was as much about a Pistons gag job as anything.

Even with LeBron, this just isn’t a good enough team to win a title. And due to past moves, it doesn’t have any easy options to change that. The Nets, meanwhile, are making every move with James in mind.

“You look at NBA teams that have won championships and they’ve been team oriented,” James said last week at USA Basketball camp. “You look at Boston and San Antonio and the Bulls teams that have won; these are all team-oriented teams.

“An individual can take over a game but at the end of the day you can only be successful if you have a great team.”

No executive in sports has more pressure on them than Danny Ferry. A lot of coaches and general managers can get fired. A lot of them can fail to live up to expectations.

Only Ferry can fumble away the franchise and crush the city. If James throws up his hands in two years and heads off to the greener pastures of New York’s concrete jungle, Gilbert may find his franchise as foreclosed as some of his subprime loans.

Cleveland hasn’t seen a major professional championship since the 1964 Browns. The light at the end of the tunnel has been James, the local kid who, eventually you’d think, will win one.

It’s not just that Cleveland has lost; it’s that local teams have lost in dramatic, gut wrenching fashion. The Drive, the Shot, the 1997 World Series.

A LeBron defection might be the worst. Having him in Brooklyn to serve as a centerpiece of an urban renewal, to bring entertainment-seeking Manhattanites across the bridge, to eclipse the Dolans’ pathetic Knicks, might be the most painful loss of all.

It’d be a complete shutting of the door of possibility, a day to be cursed and mourned for eternity. There’d be no next year.

LeBron knows all of this. He knew it when he wore that Yankees cap last October. He knew it when he listed his favorite cities. He knew it when he brings the Knicks into it by saying how he loves Madison Square Garden (even without the pregame flame throwers).

He’s a smart, savvy guy.

He knows it’s a long time until 2010. He knows – witness the Celtics and Lakers – that everything can change in a single season.

He also knows that it better happen soon, before it becomes too late for the Cavs to fix their roster, before all this talk becomes a decision that needs to be made.

Far far away from the orgy that consist of clyde, 8's, rady, smokes and rono

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We'll draft someone better than Lebron.

I'm getting tired of all this Lebron speculation. It's been going on since two years ago.

Do we really need Lebron to become a contender?
Lets not act like he's the only superstar in the league.
I rather build a TEAM with the right pieces than build around a superstar looking for the right pieces season after season.

I say you need 2-3 superstars to reach the Finals and compete, with great team that fill every role you need.
Defensive stopper
3pt specialist
Intangibles guy
Banger in the pait
Post defender
Perimeter defender
etc etc...if you have these needs filled, you will compete.

Lebron is probably the best player in the NBA. But he's not winning anything until he learns and accepts to play next to another superstar.

I like Lebron James but yall people seriously need to stop talking about him like he is the only good player that will be available, what about D-Wade? or how about we talk more about free agency and what's going on now.

It really pisses me off that the Nets are moving to Brooklyn, I was hoping they'd move to Newark like they planned to do. Not only do I not like this move (would had rather had the Jet's move here) but I don't like Jay-z for personal reasons. He has some songs I still like but him as a person and what he represents he's just another piece of trash to me. If Lebron would rather move to the Nets (he never said that exactly but it looks more clear) I don't even want him here in New York.

This is the NY Knicks house! Yeah the Nets were here before they entered the NBA but always Knicks > Nets.

I like Lebron James but yall people seriously need to stop talking about him like he is the only good player that will be available, what about D-Wade? or how about we talk more about free agency and what's going on now.

It really pisses me off that the Nets are moving to Brooklyn, I was hoping they'd move to Newark like they planned to do. Not only do I not like this move (would had rather had the Jet's move here) but I don't like Jay-z for personal reasons. He has some songs I still like but him as a person and what he represents he's just another piece of trash to me. If Lebron would rather move to the Nets (he never said that exactly but it looks more clear) I don't even want him here in New York.

This is the NY Knicks house! Yeah the Nets were here before they entered the NBA but always Knicks > Nets.

i feel you. Now that Zeke is gone, i feel better about the future. But as a New Yorker, im def gona check out a few games at the new arena. BK is a great borough...better than most other cities in the country in fact

today in the post didn't lebron admit that he really liked d'antoni and that he would really love to play in the garden. He said that he has big games at the garden, and he would like it to be that way 41 times a year rather than twice. He also said JZ would have nothing to do with his decision. While we're talking about lebron, does anyone no what our salary cap has to be in order to get him. I mean, for now they can only sign midlevel guys, so when can the sign guys like lebron. I know it has to be under the cap, but does it matter if we're a dollar under the cap or 8 billion under the cap

There's a chance he could come, but I guess the NYK can't just depend on one player. The NYK need to find cornerstones that they can build this franchise with. Even if they have the capspace to sign him, who's gonna be his sidekick?? Gallinari better turn out to be a very good player, we better have a legite PG and reliable C to have a chance at being good and attracting good free agents in 2010. I still agree that cap space must be opened up because free agents always help teams succeed. I hope Randolph, Crawford, or Curry are in demand by the All Star break so we can shred payroll.

thank you for this thread thats exactly how i feel we shouldn't put a burden of saving our franchise on a player that:

a) isn't on our team
b) most likely wont come

that just isn't fair to the player

so can we just please try and build our team back to championship contenders and if we get under the cap then great but dont take every step into getting LeBron....lets do a sign-and-trade for Ellis he's young has much more upside and would be perfect for D'Antoni team him with Chandler and Gallo and we got a dangerous threesome for the future( near future at that)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WY WOULD YOU WANT ELLIS. He plays no d and he has no pg skills. sorta like a nate robinson, only taller. and don't give me any crap about how he steals. he gambles on all those steals.

I like Lebron James but yall people seriously need to stop talking about him like he is the only good player that will be available, what about D-Wade? or how about we talk more about free agency and what's going on now.

It really pisses me off that the Nets are moving to Brooklyn, I was hoping they'd move to Newark like they planned to do. Not only do I not like this move (would had rather had the Jet's move here) but I don't like Jay-z for personal reasons. He has some songs I still like but him as a person and what he represents he's just another piece of trash to me. If Lebron would rather move to the Nets (he never said that exactly but it looks more clear) I don't even want him here in New York.

This is the NY Knicks house! Yeah the Nets were here before they entered the NBA but always Knicks > Nets.

^^^ Word. My thinking exactly. And im starting to have my doubts the Nets are actually gonna move to BK myself. I have yet to see anything built or even started in the area where they claim this new arena will be. Hope the deal really is dead like a few people told me and the nets stay where they belong... in New Jersey.